Lath with Barrier Material

ABSTRACT

A rigid wire lath product having a backing material which may be used to reinforce coatings, such as stucco, applied to building surfaces. The product comprises a mesh of longitudinal wires and transverse wires having a plurality of spaced indentations. A layer of backing material having apertures which straddle the indentations is interwoven in the mesh by longitudinal retaining wires extending along the bottom of the indentations. A method of manufacturing the product by providing a mesh of longitudinal and transverse wires welded together at their intersections substantially in a plane, and forming rows of spaced indentations in the transverse wires. A planar material is overlaid on the mesh such that said portions of the indentations protrude through apertures in the material. A plurality of wires are welded along respective rows of the protruding indentations to sandwich the material between the mesh and the wires.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/935,821 entitled Self Stiffened Welded Wire Lath Assembly byAbraham Sacks et al. filed Sep. 8, 2004, which was a continuation inpart of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/927,544 filed on Aug. 13,2001.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to building technology, and in particular to wirelath which may be used to reinforce coatings, such as stucco, applied tosoffits and other building surfaces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Some building construction techniques involve the application of acoating, such as stucco, to a surface. The coating may be desired, forexample, to improve appearance, enhance fire resistance or to complywith building or fire codes. In the following disclosure the term“stucco” is used generally to apply to cementitious plasters or gypsumplasters, including stuccos as defined in applicable building codes.

When applying a coating of stucco (or other similar material) it isgenerally desirable to provide a lath on the surface. The lath providesreinforcing for the stucco and holds the stucco in place while it cures.

Typical construction usually involves wood or metal framing withoutsheathing, referred to as open frame construction. On vertical surfaces,horizontal strands of 18 gauge tautened wire backing are attached to thesurfaces of the vertical supports. A weather-resistant barrier is theninstalled which is usually a Grade D asphalt building paper. For plastercladding, wire fabric lath is then attached to the framing over thebuilding paper and backing wires. The backing wires provide sufficientrigidity to permit proper plaster application without damaging the paperand achieving consistent plaster thickness between framing members.

The building paper application starts at the bottom and each succeedingcourse overlaps the previous course by a minimum of 2 inches, andusually is approximately 4 inches. This ensures proper shingling of thepaper to ensure that any moisture that penetrates the cladding isdirected downward and away from the building structure. The wire fabriclath has to be lapped not less than one mesh at the sides and ends.Since the building paper and wire fabric lath are applied independently,there is no difficulty in achieving the proper overlapping of eachelement.

This practice is referred to as a 3 step process—installation of backingwires, installation of building paper, and installation of lath. Toovercome this inefficiency, paper backed lath products have beendeveloped that are one step products. These products incorporate thebacking wire, the building paper and the wire lath into a singleproduct. An example of such a product is available from K-Lath Corp. ofFontana, Calif. referred to as Stucco Rite®. Stucco Rite® is a 2″ by 2″welded wire mesh with a slot-perforated absorptive, separator paper, andwith a sheet of Grade D building paper adhered to the separator paper.Another manufacturer, Davis Wire Corp of Irwindale, Calif. manufacturesa similar product called Best-Lath “D” Welded Wire Fabric Lath.

As seen in both of these products, a perforated separator paper isincorporated between the longitudinal and cross wires of the lath. Thefunction of this separator paper is to provide a means of attaching thebuilding paper to the lath. The building paper must remain intact soholes or perforations cannot be incorporated into the building paperitself. Therefore, the separator paper is required since it can beperforated so that it may be mechanically attached to the wire lath.This sheet provides a suitable base for attachment of the buildingpaper.

In the installation of these one step products, care must be taken toachieve the proper lapping of the building paper and of the wire lath.ASTM C-1063 “Standard Specification for Installation of Lathing andFurring to Receive Interior and Exterior Portland Cement-Based Plaster”states in Section 7.8.3 “Where metal plaster base with backing is used,the vertical and horizontal lap joints shall be backing on backing andmetal on metal”. To achieve this, the manufacturers of the aboveproducts have carefully sized the building paper sheet size and sheetlocation on the wire mesh sheet, so that proper lapping of both thebuilding paper and the wire lath can be achieved. Since the buildingpaper is adhered to the separator sheet, the interwoven wires aretrapped between these two papers. As a result, the position of thepapers in relation to the wire lath is maintained during handling andinstallation.

Further, since the separator paper is only required to provide anadhesive base for the building paper, it need not extend all the way tothe edges of the lath sheet. Therefore, it is sized so that it does notencroach on the overlaps and is not a hindrance factor in achieving theproper metal on metal contact. Usually, this separator paper is keptback two to three inches from all edges of the wire lath.

Since the building paper provides support for the edges of the separatorpaper, there is no need to firmly attach the edges of the separatorpaper to the lath. When the product is applied on the wall, the buildingpaper prevents the separator paper from being displaced into the wallcavity with the pressure of the applied plaster. Further, since thebuilding paper extends past the lath overlaps in all directions, thereare no gaps in the backing where plaster can flow past the lath into thewall cavity.

However, there are applications where building paper is not required ornot desired. Such applications would be on horizontal surfaces such asundersides of soffits or porticos, or on vertical surfaces such as rainscreen walls. Rain screen walls are constructed with building paperinstalled over the framing and then a furring spacer, usually ¾ inchthick, is installed vertically over the building paper. A lath withbacking is attached to these furring spacers. A lath with building paperis not desirable in this instance since any moisture traveling downwardwithin the drainage cavity could be caught by the edge of the buildingpaper and deflected out of the rain screen cavity. The design intent isto keep the moisture within the cavity and then discharge it at thebottom through a proper flashing.

A lath as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,387 to Sacks et al disclosesa lath with a separator paper only without the building paper which isintended for such applications. However, when the building paper isomitted, several deficiencies become evident. In the prior art asdisclosed by Sacks, the separator paper (referred to as a barrier paperin the Sacks prior art) does not extend all the way to the edges of thewire lath. If the separator paper did extend all the way to the edge, itwould firstly interfere with achieving metal to metal contact. Secondly,it would not be secured at the edges and would give way when plasterpressure was applied. This would result in uneven thickness of plasterwhich could cause a plaster fall out due to additional weight of wetplaster, or be the cause of potential cracks in the future. Further,since there is no building paper adhered to the separator paper, theseparator is not held firmly in position relative to the wire.Therefore, since the paper may shift during handling and installation,it could the also interfere in obtaining metal to metal contact withoutany paper in between the overlapping joint.

In addition, the longitudinal wires forming part of the Sacks trussextend across the slots thereby impeding to some extent the keying ofthe stucco through the slot. The elongated slots in the separator layeralso result in movement or play between the separator layer and the wiremesh that can cause displacement of the separator layer.

An additional problem arises from the use of paper backed lath arisesfrom the manner in which the paper is terminated at the sides of thelath. The paper is provided with apertures for keying of the stucco. Theareas between the apertures form interconnected webs of material. At thesides of the lath, the paper includes an unattached flap of materialthat does not provide effective resistance to the application of stucco,resulting in difficulty of application.

It is the objective of the present invention to provide an improvedbacked lath with a barrier layer that avoids the disadvantages of theprior art paper backed laths.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a rigid wire lath product having a backingmaterial that overcomes a number of disadvantages of prior art wirefabric laths.

According to the invention, the principal plane of the wire fabriccomprises a mesh of longitudinal and transverse wires forming columnsand rows. The transverse wires have a plurality of spaced indentations.A planar barrier layer of material is interwoven in the mesh bylongitudinal retaining wires extending along the bottom of theindentations. The barrier layer is provided with apertures enabling theindentations to be straddled by the apertures such that the materialforming the barrier layer is retained between the principal plane of thewire fabric on one side and the longitudinal retaining wires on theother side. This arrangement allows all of the intersections of theprincipal plane of the wire fabric to be welded before applying thebarrier layer and the longitudinal retaining wires. Preferably theapertures may be circular so as to more closely abut the indentations inall directions, thereby limiting relative displacement of the barrierlayer in relation to the wire mesh.

In one aspect of the invention, the longitudinal wires forming theprincipal plane of the wire fabric are arranged such that they do notextend across the apertures thereby ensuring that they do not impede thekeying of the stucco into the apertures.

In another aspect of the invention, the barrier layer includes webs atthe sides of a sheet between end rows of cells, each of the webs beingfolded over a common longitudinal wire and being secured back untoitself about the longitudinal wire thereby avoiding unattached flaps.

In another aspect of the invention, the barrier layer includes aplurality of apertures overlapping the indentations and wherein each ofthe apertures in at least one row has a diameter substantial equal to orless than the maximum span of the indentations.

In another aspect of the invention, at least one rows of apertures aresmaller than the other rows of apertures and are sufficiently small thatopposed edges of the apertures in the at least one row are insimultaneous contact with the indentation about which it is seated so asto retain the barrier material against transverse displacement.

According to a method aspect of the invention, the manufacture of awelded wire lath comprises providing a mesh of longitudinal andtransverse wires welded together at their intersections substantially ina plane, and forming rows spaced indentations in the transverse wires,the indentations having portions extending out of the plane. A planarmaterial is provided, the material having a plurality of apertures beingspaced from one another in a pattern corresponding to the locations ofthe indentations. The planar material is overlaid on the mesh such thatsaid portions of the indentations protrude through the apertures. Aplurality of elongated wires are then welded along respective rows ofthe protruding portions of the indentations to thereby sandwich theplanar material between the mesh and the elongated wires.

In a more particular aspect, the planar material is provided in sheetshaving end webs that are folded over a common elongated wire of the meshand are secured to themselves about that wire.

In a still more particular aspect, the planar material is provided withholes having a smaller diameter than the diameter of the apertures suchthat opposed edges of each hole are in simultaneous contact with itsrespective indentation to retain the planar support material againsttransverse displacement.

The foregoing summary of the invention does not necessarily include allaspects of the invention. Further features and aspects of the inventionwill be more fully understood by reference the following description ofthe preferred embodiments and to the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiment of the invention will be described by referenceto the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic front perspective view of a welded wire mesh lathin accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the welded wire mesh lathof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the manufacturing process ofwelded wire mesh lath according to the invention;

FIG. 4A is a diagrammatic plan view of a first part of the manufacturingprocess according to the invention;

FIG. 4B is a diagrammatic plan view of a second part of themanufacturing process according to the invention; and

FIG. 4C is a diagrammatic plan view of a third part of the manufacturingprocess according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a lath 10 according to thepreferred embodiment comprising a wire mesh 12 and a planar barrierlayer of material 14. The material 14 may comprise a suitable buildingpaper, such as kraft paper, which may be surface treated to improve theadhesion of stucco. Alternatively it may comprise asphalt-coated paperor such an asphalt-coated paper adhered to another layer, such as kraftpaper.

Wire mesh 12 is fabricated by welding the intersections 18 of aplurality of transverse wires 20 and a plurality of longitudinal wires22 that are perpendicular to the transverse wires 20. The wires 20 and22 and their intersections lie substantially in plane 24, best seen inFIG. 2. Each of the transverse wires 20 has a plurality of spacedindentations 26 arranged in rows and columns across the lath.Indentations 26 are preferably generally V-shaped and provide rigidityto the lath.

A set of longitudinal retaining wires 28 are welded to the indentations26 at the apices of the indentations (as best seen in FIG. 2) so thatthe indentations are formed in rows coinciding with the longitudinalretaining wires 28. Each transverse wire 20 lies within a plane thatincludes indentation 26. That plane, which is the plane of FIG. 2, isgenerally perpendicular to plane 24. In the preferred embodiment,longitudinal wires 18 are located so as to avoid spanning the openingsof the apertures 30 in the support material 14, which apertures aredescribed in more detail below.

A wire lath 10 can be produced in any desired dimensions but ispreferably provided in sheets of widths and lengths that can be easilyhandled. For example, the sheets may have a width in the range of 2 to 5feet. Sheets of wire lath 10 can be compactly stacked together with theindentations 26 of one sheet being received within those of the nextsheet in the stack.

The combination of the longitudinal and transverse wires welded at theirintersections forms a mesh comprising rows of cells, including opposedend rows 32, 34 at opposed transverse ends 36, 38 of the mesh. The cellscomprising end row 32 share at least one common longitudinal wire 40while the cells comprising end row 34 share at least one commonlongitudinal wire 42. In the preferred embodiment, wires 40 and 42 arethe endmost ones of longitudinal retaining wires 28, i.e. they extendalong the apices of indentations 26 in a plane 44 that is defined by theplurality of longitudinal retaining wires 28.

Lath 10 may be applied over framing members, which are typically 16inches or 24 inches on center. It can be attached to the framing membersat the bottom of indentations 26. In horizontal applications, buildingcodes generally require that a lath be attached every 3 inches. Invertical applications, the codes generally require attachment to theframing members every 6 inches. In either case, a 3 inch spacing of theindentations 26 allows appropriate attachment points. Lath 10 ispreferably applied in an orientation such that the side of lath 10bearing longitudinal retaining wires 26 faces the framing members, eachof the longitudinal retaining wires crosses a plurality of the framingmembers, and longitudinal wires 22 are spaced from the faces of theframing members by the indentations 26. The portions of lath 10 betweenthe framing members can be substantially unsupported.

A planar barrier layer of material 14 is disposed between plane 24 andplane 44. Barrier layer 14 includes apertures 30 through which theindentations 26 protrude to allow the longitudinal wires 22 to lie onone side of support layer 14 and longitudinal retaining wires 28 to lieon the other side of layer 14. The barrier layer 14 is therebyinterwoven with the mesh, straddling the indentations 26 and beingsandwiched between the principal plane 24 of the mesh and thelongitudinal retaining wires 28. This arrangement allows all of theother intersections of the mesh to be welded and the indentations 26 tobe formed in advance of applying the barrier layer 14 and welding thelongitudinal retaining wires 28 to the indentations 26.

According to the prior art approach disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,820,387, certain ones of the longitudinal wires 22 are provided on theshoulder portions of the indentations 26. This sometimes results in suchlongitudinal wires spanning and obstructing a portion of the opening ofthe apertures 30. However, according to the present invention, thelongitudinal wires 22 are positioned in relation to the indentations 26so that none of them spans the apertures 30 as best seen in FIG. 1.

In the known prior art, the perforations in the barrier layer areelongated to form slots. This can result in displacement or floating ofthe support layer in relation to the wire mesh in the direction ofelongation of the slots. In order to avoid such effect, the presentinvention provides apertures 30 that are circular so as to more closelyabut the indentations in all directions, thereby limiting relativedisplacement of the support material in relation to the wire mesh.Preferably, all of the apertures 30 have diameters substantial equal toor less than the span D of the indentations at their base, i.e. wherethe transverse wires 20 begin to leave plane 24.

In the preferred embodiment, at least one of the rows of aperturescomprises holes 46 that are smaller in diameter than the maximum span Dof the indentations (at the base of the indentations). This results inholes 46 snugly engaging the indentations at some point between the baseand the apices of the indentations, thereby more effectively resistingdisplacement of the support material in relation to the wire mesh. Inthe preferred embodiment, holes 46 are between ¼″ and ¾″ in diameter,preferably about ½″ in diameter, while the apertures 30 are between ¾″and 1¼″ in diameter, preferably about ⅞″ in diameter. Such anarrangement of two sets of apertures allows snug retention of thesupport material to the wire mesh on the one hand, by means of thesmaller holes, while also allowing effective mushrooming of the stuccothrough the larger apertures.

The arrangement of apertures 30 in the barrier layer forms a matrix ofinterconnected webs of support material between the apertures. It willbe appreciated that the longitudinal retaining wires 28 span portions ofthese webs to retain the barrier layer 14 between the longitudinalretaining wires 28 on the one hand and a combination of the transversewires 20 and the longitudinal wires 22 on the other hand. The barrierlayer of the preferred embodiment has two opposed ends 48 and 50 thatextend generally to the opposed sides of the wire mesh. At least one ofsuch ends, for example end 50, comprises a row of end webs 52 extendingbetween a plurality of end openings 54. The end webs 52 are folded overand secured to themselves about and around common longitudinal wire 56and each of said end webs 52 is secured back onto itself around commonlongitudinal wire 56. Preferably the same is done at opposed end 48 ofthe support material.

Prior to being folded over, the end openings 54 comprise aperturesbounded by a closed curve, however it is contemplated that prior tobeing folded over, the end openings 54 may simply present unclosed gapsin the end of the support material. In the preferred embodiment, endopenings are larger in their aperture area than aperture 30. When theend openings are folded over themselves, there is a possibility that thewebs of material between the openings will not line up perfectly so thatthe facing webs combine to increase the surface area available toobstruct the passage of stucco. This may be compounded when adjacentsheets of lath are brought into edge to edge engagement duringinstallation. Thus it is desirable to have openings that are as large asfeasible to maximize the keying of stucco once the webs are folded overand secured to themselves.

It will be appreciated that various modifications to the preferredembodiment may be practised without changing the underlying structureand effectiveness of the invention. For example, additional longitudinalor transverse wires might be added and additional apertures might beprovided in the barrier layer. Other such changes can be made that donot depart from the principles of the invention.

The manufacture of the lath 10 of the preferred embodiment will now bedescribed by reference to FIGS. 3, 4A, 4B and 4C.

A matrix of perpendicular transverse 60 and longitudinal 62 wires arewelded (64) at their intersections 66 in a continuous process to producea rectangular mesh 68. Transverse wires 60 are spaced about 1.6″ fromone another while longitudinal wires 62 are nominally spaced about 0.6″from one another. At regular intervals of three longitudinal wires, oneof the longitudinal wires is omitted as indicated by the numeral 70 sothat gaps are provided between groups of otherwise equally spacedlongitudinal wires. The gaps 70 left by the omitted wires are made to beof such dimensions that when a fur indentation 72 is made in thetransverse wires by indentation former 74, the groups of longitudinalwires are drawn towards one another across the gaps so that the spacingbetween the groups is brought to approximately the regular longitudinalinterval spacing of 0.6″. The drawing in of the longitudinal wires isshown at 76 in FIG. 4A. Each of two transverse feed strands is turnedback on itself at the sides of the lath to form adjacent transversewires at a spacing of about 1.6″. The turning back on themselves at thesides of the lath results in the formation of ears 78 (shown in FIG. 1as ears 37, 39).

The resulting mesh 68 is then formed as at 74 to provide furindentations 72 at spaced intervals along the transverse wires 60, theindentations 72 corresponding in position to the omitted longitudinalwires from gaps 70.

A support material 80, preferably kraft paper, having apertures 82 and84 corresponding to the pattern of indentations 72 is then applied overthe mesh workpiece such that each of apertures 82 and 84 straddles oneof the fur indentations 72.

A plurality of longitudinal retaining wires 86 are then welded (88) tothe apices of the indentations 72 to sandwich the support material 80between the principal plane of the mesh and the longitudinal retainingwires 86.

Pinch feed rolls 95 draw the mesh along to a shearing station 90 wherethe mesh is sheared into sheets 92 having approximately the desireddimensions of the lath 10.

Glue is then sprayed (94) by an applicator 96 onto the end webs 98 ofthe sheets 92 and the sheets are then fed to a folding station 100 wherethe end webs 98 are folded over and around the terminal longitudinalretaining wires 102 that are at the sides of the sheets. Additional feedpinch rolls 104 deliver the sheets to a stack 106 for transport.

It should be appreciated that the invention as described hereincomprising a number of aspects, each of which might independently beapplied. For example, the aspect of the invention involving the foldingover of the end webs of the barrier material may be practised on a meshthat does not necessarily include indentations or furring spacers.Similarly, the method of manufacturing involving the formation of aplanar mesh, followed by the formation of indentations and theapplication of longitudinal retaining wires over a barrier layer may bepractised without necessarily folding over the end webs of the barrierlayer. Further still, providing a mesh wherein the longitudinal wires donot span the apertures may be practised without necessarily includingthe other aspects of the invention.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of theforegoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible inthe practice of this invention without departing from the spirit orscope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to beconstrued in accordance with the substance defined by the followingclaims.

1. Welded wire lath comprising: a mesh formed from a plurality oflongitudinal wires and a plurality of transverse wires, saidlongitudinal wires and said transverse wires being welded at theirintersections to form a mesh having a plurality of cells, said meshhaving at least two opposed ends, each end being defined by a row ofcells sharing at least one common longitudinal wire; said transversewires having indentations at spaced intervals, and longitudinalretaining wires being welded to said indentations to form rows ofindentations coinciding with said longitudinal retaining wires; a planarbarrier layer of material having a plurality of apertures with webstherebetween, said material being interwoven with said mesh, saidindentations extending through said apertures, and said longitudinalretaining wires spanning portions of said webs to retain said materialto said mesh; said material having two opposed ends each end comprisinga row of end webs extending between a plurality of openings, at leastone of said end webs being folded over and around a common longitudinalwire and being secured back onto itself about said common longitudinalwire.
 2. The lath of claim 1 wherein said apertures are spanned by saidlongitudinal retaining wires but not by any other ones of saidlongitudinal wires.
 3. The lath of claim 1 wherein each of said end websis folded over and around a common longitudinal wire and each of saidend webs is secured back onto itself about its respective commonlongitudinal wire.
 4. The lath of claim 1 wherein said openings at saidends of said material define apertures bounded by a closed curve priorto said end webs being folded over.
 5. The lath of claim 1 wherein saidopenings at said ends of said material define unclosed gaps along anedge prior to said end webs being folded over.
 6. The lath of claim 1wherein said common longitudinal wire around which said end webs arefolded over is one of said longitudinal retaining wires welded to saidindentations.
 7. The lath of claim 1 wherein said apertures arecircular.
 8. The lath of claim 1 wherein said openings are larger thansaid apertures.
 9. The lath of claim 1 wherein the apertures along atleast one longitudinal row of indentations are sufficiently small thatopposed edges of the apertures are in simultaneous contact with saidindentation to retain said material against transverse displacement. 10.Welded wire lath comprising: a mesh formed from a plurality oflongitudinal wires and a plurality of transverse wires, saidlongitudinal wires and said transverse wires being welded at theirintersections to form a mesh having a plurality of cells, said meshhaving at least two opposed ends, each end being defined by a row ofcells sharing at least one common longitudinal wire; said transversewires having indentations at spaced intervals, said indentationscoinciding with parallel rows of said intersections and spaced ones ofsaid longitudinal wires being welded to said indentations to form rowsof indentations along said spaced longitudinal wires; a planar barrierlayer of material having a plurality of apertures with webstherebetween, said support material and being interwoven with said mesh,said indentations extending through said apertures and said spacedlongitudinal wires spanning portions of said webs to retain saidmaterial to said mesh; said material having two opposed ends each beingdefined by a row of end webs extending between a plurality of openingseach bounded by a closed curve and being larger in diameter than saidapertures; and, said end webs being folded over and around a commonlongitudinal wire that is welded to a row of said indentations, andbeing secured back onto themselves about said common longitudinal wire.11. A method of manufacturing a welded wire lath, comprising the stepsof: providing a mesh of longitudinal and transverse wires weldedtogether at their intersections substantially in a plane; forming rowsof spaced indentations in said transverse wires, said indentationshaving portions extending out of said plane; after said step of formingrows, providing a planar material having a plurality of apertures beingspaced from one another in a pattern corresponding to the locations ofsaid indentations and overlaying said planar material on said mesh suchthat said portions of said indentations protrude through said apertures;after said step of overlaying said planar material, welding a pluralityof elongated wires along respective rows of said protruding portions ofsaid indentations to thereby sandwich said planar material between saidmesh and said elongated wires.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein: saidplanar material is provided in sheets, said sheets includinginterconnected webs of material between said apertures, and furtherincluding a row of end webs at least one side of said sheets said endwebs extending between a row of end openings, and further including thestep of: folding and securing each of said end webs over onto itselfaround a common one of said elongated wires.
 13. The method of claim 11wherein said planar material further includes a plurality of holes, eachof said holes having a diameter smaller than the diameter of saidapertures and is sufficiently small that opposed edges of said holes arein simultaneous contact with its respective indentation to retain saidplanar support material against transverse displacement.
 14. The methodof claim 12 wherein said end openings in said planar material arebounded by a closed curve and said end openings are larger than saidapertures.
 15. A method of manufacturing a welded wire lath, comprisingthe steps of: providing a mesh of longitudinal and transverse wireswelded together at their intersections substantially in a plane; formingrows spaced indentations in said transverse wires, said indentationshaving portions extending out of said plane; providing a plurality ofsheets of planar material each of said sheets: having a plurality ofapertures being spaced from one another in a pattern corresponding tothe locations of said indentations; including interconnected webs ofmaterial between said apertures; having a row of end webs at least oneside of said sheet, said end webs bounded by a closed curve andextending between a row of end openings, said end openings being largerthan said apertures; having a plurality of holes, each of said holeshaving a diameter smaller than the diameter of said apertures andsufficiently small that opposed edges of said holes will be insimultaneous contact with its respective indentation to retain saidplanar support material against transverse displacement when said sheetof planar material is overlaid on said mesh; overlaying one of saidsheets of planar material on said mesh such that said portions of saidindentations protrude through said apertures; welding a plurality ofelongated wires along respective rows of said protruding portions ofsaid indentations to thereby sandwich said planar material between saidmesh and said elongated wires; folding and securing each of said endwebs over onto itself around a common one of said elongated wires; and,shearing said mesh into sheets of lath.
 16. The method of claim 15wherein said step of providing a mesh comprises providing a mesh oflongitudinal and transverse wires welded together at their intersectionssubstantially in a plane, wherein groups of said longitudinal wires arespaced from one another by a first amount and said longitudinal wireswithin each group are spaced from another by a second amount that isgreater than said first amount to provide gaps between said groups andsuch that when said step of forming rows of indentations is saidtransverse wires is performed, said groups are drawn toward one anotherto substantially eliminate said gap.
 17. A wire fabric lath comprising:a mesh formed from a plurality of longitudinal wires and a plurality oftransverse wires arranged to form a mesh having a plurality of cells,said mesh having at least two opposed ends, each end being defined by arow of cells sharing at least one common longitudinal wire; a planarlayer of material having a plurality of apertures with webstherebetween, said material being interwoven with said mesh; saidmaterial having two opposed ends each being defined by a row of end websextending between a plurality of openings, at least one of said end websbeing folded over and around a common longitudinal wire and beingsecured back onto itself about said common longitudinal wire.
 18. Thewire fabric lath of claim 17 wherein each of said end webs is foldedover and around a common longitudinal wire and each of said end webs issecured back onto itself about its respective common longitudinal wire.19. The wire fabric lath of claim 17 wherein said openings at said endsof said material define apertures bounded by a closed curve prior tosaid end webs being folded over.
 20. The wire fabric lath of claim 17wherein said openings at said ends of said material define unclosed gapsalong an edge prior to said end webs being folded over.
 21. The wirefabric lath of claim 17 wherein said openings are larger than saidapertures.
 22. Welded wire lath comprising: a mesh formed from aplurality of longitudinal wires and a plurality of transverse wires,said longitudinal wires and said transverse wires being welded at theirintersections to form a mesh having a plurality of cells, said meshhaving at least two opposed ends, each end being defined by a row ofcells sharing at least one common longitudinal wire; said transversewires having indentations at spaced intervals, and longitudinalretaining wires being welded to said indentations to form rows ofindentations coinciding with said longitudinal retaining wires; a planarbarrier layer of material having a plurality of apertures with webstherebetween, said material being interwoven with said mesh, saidindentations extending through said apertures, and said longitudinalretaining wires spanning portions of said webs to retain said materialto said mesh; and, said apertures being circular.
 23. The lath of claim22 wherein the apertures along at least one longitudinal row ofindentations are sufficiently small that opposed edges of the aperturesare in simultaneous contact with said indentation to retain saidmaterial against transverse displacement.
 24. The lath of claim 22wherein a plurality of first longitudinal rows of said apertures are ofa first size and at least one second longitudinal row of said aperturesare of a second size that is smaller than said first size.